Govt has no details on the owner of Ambedkar's homes in London

Despite purchasing the house in which Dr Ambedkar lived in while in London, the state government doesn’t know the previous owner of the property, reveals data received under RTI.Bhavika Jain | TNN | November 12, 2015, 08:06 IST

MUMBAI: Despite purchasing the house in which Dr Ambedkar lived in while in London, the state government doesn’t know the previous owner of the property, reveals data received under RTI.

An RTI application filed by activist Anil Galgali seeking details on the owner of the structure wasn’t met with any answer.

Meanwhile, the government has spent more than Rs 25 lakh on travel to London to finalise the deal to acquire the bungalow in which Ambedkar lived, while in studying in LSE. Data received also reveals that minister for social justice Rajkumar Badole and Principal Secretary Ujjwal Uke, visited London twice and once respectively and stayed for 6 days and a total expense of Rs 25.45 lakh was made.

Dr Ambedkar had lived in London at 10, Kings, Henry Road, N.W. 3.The house was to be sold via open auction for which the Government gave a nod to participate in the month of February of this year. And to facilitate the process, a solicitor firm was appointed at cost of Rs 3.10 crore, the data revealed.

The government has acquired the house at the cost of Rs 31 crore. The Devendra Fadnavis government plans to convert the bungalow into an international museum-cum-memorial. The BJP government had hoped to acquire the bungalow and throw open the memorial to the public by April 14, his birth anniversary.